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Over the course of four weeks of football, the Kansas City Chiefs’ defense left a lot to be desired. After being slashed by the formidable offensive attacks of the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers, the Kansas City defense once again struggled to get off the field in the team’s 42-30 win over the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday. Philadelphia amassed 461 yards of attack – 358 in the air and 103 on the ground.
At this point in the season, many fans are already getting impatient with the unit – but Chiefs head coach Andy Reid hasn’t lost sight of the big picture.
“I think it was a great day for our young guys just to get some experience, especially on the defensive end,” Reid said in Sunday’s post-game press conference. “It will pay off for us down the road.”
Second-year defensive end Mike Danna is one of the young players benefiting from increased snaps. After registering her first sack of the season against the Chargers, Danna added two more on Sunday – the first multi-sack game of her career.
“He was around quarterback most of the day,” Reid noted.
Danna attributed the defense work during the week for some of the positive steps it took – and the improvements it made to his own performance.
“It starts in practice,” he insisted. “It really comes from the preparation and then coming out on match day and running.”
On Sunday defense preparation was evident in an area where it had been very weak.
“Our defense did a great job in the red zone,” said Reid. “We kept them on field goals instead of touchdowns. “
In fact, in Philadelphia’s six trips to the red zone, the Kansas City defense kept them out of the end zone three times. Prior to Week 4, the Chiefs had yielded touchdowns in 12 of 13 trips to the red zone. Danna said that before the game this had been an area of focus.
“We worked on it, man,” he said. “It was an important point for us. It really depends on how we start in the practice. We came here and ran when it fell into the red zone. ”
But despite promising signs of growth from their young defensive players, the team know they will soon need full-strength unity to compete in a division (and conference) laden with tough opponents.
“It’ll be good to get some of the guys back in place after injuries,” Reid admitted.
The team’s intended first-team defense has yet to play a cinch together. Linebacker Willie Gay Jr. was sidelined all four games with a toe injury, defensive end Frank Clark missed three with a hamstring problem, cornerback Charvarius Ward (quadriceps) and Rashad Fenton (concussion) were absent from the last two games and safety Tyrann Mathieu missed the first game of the season on the Reserve / COVID list. After injuries to defensive end Joshua Kaindoh (ankle) and linebacker Ben Niemann (concussion) on Sunday, reinforcements cannot arrive soon enough.
That’s because the defense will shoot a tough game in Week 5. The Buffalo Bills offense has been impressive over the past three weeks – including Sunday’s 40-0 beating against the Houston Texans. Buffalo’s defense was also strong. At the start of week 4, he placed second in Football Outsiders’ Defense-Adjusted Total Value (DVOA) – and the shutout he threw against the Texans likely pushed him past the Carolina Panthers in first place. If the Bills can get Kansas City’s powerful offense out of the field even a few times, the Chiefs will need their defense to seize the opportunity.
“We are looking forward to it,” said Danna. “Never take for granted Sunday night football. So we are looking forward to the game – and we will prepare for them. “
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